Welcome to Quick Fill.

First off, we want to give a HUGE thank you to each and every racer that came out to the Can-Am Unadilla GNCC over the weekend and of course every family member, crew person and spectator that took the time to support our racers and this sport. We realize that the registration process posed a huge frustration to those of you trying to get signed up, consequently setting the AM and PM races back two hours on Sunday. While every race did receive the full-amount of time on the course”†in fact every race went over besides the PM bike, which came 11 minutes short of 3 hours due to the way lap times fell”†we do understand that starting two hours late caused inconvenience to many families. The entire GNCC staff sincerely apologizes for that and please know that we’ve all been working hard to revise the registration process to be more efficient across the board. I like to think of this as a growing pain, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for our sport, but RP is dedicated to updating and growing the internal systems in order to make it right for you all. That being said, here’s a checklist of things we will have implemented for Powerline Park and beyond.

• Online Pre-Registration will no longer require a reserved number. So really, there’s no reason not to do it now!
• The Pre-Reg check-in line will be located under the red tent, separate from the other lines. Essentially making it even more “express” .
• There will be better signage indicating Lines 1-4 at the trailer. And also directional signage showing the sign-up process by steps.
• On Saturday and Sunday, the following designated sign-up times will be enforced:
  • 7-8 a.m. - Youth riders only
  • 8-10 a.m. - AM riders only
  • 10 a.m. on - All riders

To sum it up: anyone can pre-register online before the event, so do it! You will NOT be allowed to sign up until the race before you has taken off, so just be patient and wait your turn. Follow the signage and oh, did I mention pre-registration?

Anyway, we appreciate the positive feedback and everyone’s patience while we work to make this issue better. Which actually leads me into my next topic ”“ the GNCC website. I am more than pleased to informally announce the start of redesigning and rebuilding the GNCC website. We met with our web designer all day Tuesday to go over the current site and map out things we want to change moving forward. This may be the inner geek in me, but this project has got me really excited! We’re going to have a lot of new features, some of which will be similar to racerxonline.com, since we’re using the same company but they have a proven track record of efficient and user-friendly sites so it’s going to be a homerun for everyone involved. This project probably won’t launch until the end of winter since it’s such a massive change, but we’re already looking forward.

On to a little racing from Unadilla. In Saturday's AM race, Can-Am X-Team racer Bryan Buckhannon grabbed a big win in the 4x4 Open class and made an appearance on the overall podium for the first time since Round 6. It was also nice to see a guest appearance by Tim Farr in the AM race, where he actually bested Michael Swift for the second place spot in 4x4 Open. It’s cool to see guys like Tim come back and switch things up a bit for fun. Even though we all know it turns into ultra-competitiveness no matter what!

So I already promised Kevin Trantham I wouldn’t write about him in QF anymore. It just so happens that any time I make a claim or boast about how well he’s doing, something happens the next race. I talked about him last week and what do you know, at Unadilla he first lost his entire front brake lever, consequently roaching out his rear brakes a little later. At one point Kevin said he was cruising the woods with no brakes at all! But this time he was able to secure the 4x4 Lites win and finish the race, so I don't feel as bad.

New York’s Gary Chamberlain gave Dave Simmons a little run for his money in the Super Senior (45+) division but I’m afraid Super Dave just has it on lock down. There isn’t much that rattles that guy and I’m continuously impressed watching him ride.

The guys below cover a good bit of race action, but here’s a link to my post-race PRs from Unadilla, which give an overview of racing from each day - ATV PR here and Bike PR here.

If you’re looking for somewhere to race this weekend, High Point Raceway is hosting the 22^nd Annual #174 DC Vet National on Saturday, offering the normal Vet classes and also offering up a chance for non-vets to get a little track time during the open practice sessions that take place throughout the day. Then Sunday hosts a similar day of Vet racing, but isn’t considered the Vet National. So only Vet classes will be offered, but the open practice option is open again to non-vets. And for all you cross-country racers: they’re holding an XC race Sunday as well, with bike and ATV classes for Youth and Adult. Our very own Barry Hawk will be laying out the course out there and if we’re lucky he might pull out a bike or quad and race! For fees, times and classes click HERE.

That’s most likely where I’ll be headed this weekend to get a little seat time on the motocross track. And if I’m feeling up to it, maybe I’ll take a stab at the XC deal on Sunday as well. Have a great weekend and good luck to all the riders who will be representing #merica in Germany next week! Here’s Bolt-On.

@JaredBolton:

Rodney has you ATV guys covered, so once again, please don’t think I ignore you week-in and week-out because I know you guys produce just as great (and a lot of times better!) racing than the bike guys. However, I will say that I was once again impressed with the race the boys put on up at the front of the XC1 class and when I saw the leaders come back into the pits once again without Adam McGill (who had broken down just before the pits), it made things even more interesting than they already were.

Moving on to the bike side though, we had a pretty good race going on in the Women’s class. It’s no secret that Maria Forsberg is the clear favorite each weekend but she had a pretty good challenge at Unadilla from Sarah Baldwin out of Virginia. My understanding is that Sarah is yet another fast girl to come from the VCHSS series much like Ashley Copeland who has logged some solid finishes this season as well. Another rider in that class who seems to be improving each week is Becca Sheets, who had yet another great ride last weekend at Unadilla. It just goes to show that the Women’s class is yet another group of talented racers who have great battles each week.

How about that race for the overall win in the afternoon race on Sunday though?! Thad Duvall finally picked up his first-ever XC1 class and overall win. Many had expected Thad to be the guy at the front of the XC1 class after a stellar XC2 season in 2008 but Thad has had some tough luck since then but it seems like 2012 has seen a new Thad Duvall who’s been a consistent top 5 threat and finally snagged that overall win that many had expected to come long ago.

He didn’t get that win without a challenge though! We saw all the usual suspects running up front early with championship leaders Paul Whibley and Kailub Russell gunning for the lead and swapping it a few times. Charlie Mullins also had a good showing early and looked as if he could be the man to beat for the weekend but Charlie ran into brake issues and lost a lot of time in the pits. Oh, and how about Takeshi Koikeda running with the top 3 for the first half of the race! Throw in the other guys like Thad, Nate Kanney and Chris Bach, and we saw one of the better XC1 bike races we’ve seen in a while.

Coming down to the wire Thad had secured a pretty comfortable lead over Paul Whibley while Kailub Russell had worked his way back up to third after dropping back earlier in the race. However, on the last lap at the FMF Power Point, which was the very last hillclimb on the lap, and less than a mile from the finish, Kailub fell over and struggled slightly to get going again. By the time he got up and rolling, Nate Kanney had already passed him. The two were just a few seconds apart coming into the finish but Kanney held on to snag his first podium of the year.

All of this happened just in the XC1 class! The XC2 class had a pretty good race as well with Steward Baylor, Jason Thomas and Andrew Delong all up front early but Baylor had a rear wheel come off the rim and lost a bunch of time much like Charlie Mullins did! Then Jason Thomas buried himself in a mudhole along the treacherous river section, which took him out of contention. Scott Grills jumped in with the lead group and put in a solid ride for a while as well before he ran into issues.

When it was all said and done though, Andrew Delong snagged the win ahead of Morgan Moss who just made his return to GNCC as well. Third went to Delong’s FAR Husqvarna teammate, Nick Davis. It’s pretty cool to see those new faces on the podium and just goes to show that you never know what can happen in GNCC racing!

Both the XC1 and XC2 podiums had cool stories as Thad Duvall brought Honda it’s first XC1 win since 2007 and Nate Kanney helped put 2 Honda’s on the XC1 podium for the first time in, well, nobody can quite seem to remember! The XC2 podium was cool as well seeing Morgan Moss land there in what has been his first GNCC all year, and Nick Davis jumping up there as well to make it two FAR Husqvarna’s on the podium.

Wow. I’ve gone on and on just about what happened at Unadilla and there’s still so much more that happened! There’s no doubt that this year’s Unadilla GNCC was a great way to return from summer break. With its record turn out and amazing racing, it truly was a great weekend of racing.

Well, I’m going to stop myself here before I start getting even more in-depth about everything. So until next time, Bolt-On out!

Here’s @HotRodney22:

I really don’t where to start this week. I felt coming into this weekend that there would be monumental things taking place, but I really don’t think I could have ever guessed what this past weekend was going to be like. With its obvious challenges, all in all it was a weekend those in attendance may not soon forget.

Record turnout, a historical championship title in the history books, a career first time win, two Honda motorcycles on the podium and the XC2 championships wildly up in the air with several contenders in each discipline.

Since the obvious is the number of riders I won’t bore you with my take on that. So let us first say congratulations to Chris Borich on his 4^th consecutive GNCC ATV Championship.  This separates him now by only 5 more championships from Bill Ballance’s amazing 9 titles. As interesting with Borich’s 9^th win of the season puts him at 58 total overall wins, only 10 wins away from the all-time record of 68 which is held by Bill Ballance.

Huge congratulations to Thad Duvall for his historic win at the legendary Unadilla GNCC.  Duvall is a rider destined for greatness since he was a young rider in the youth ranks. Â  But like many, Thad found out that it’s not as easy as it looks and finally being able to put everything together Thad pulls one out on top.  It was a big win on so many levels, but hopefully it won’t be the last.  It could not have come a better time as he heads to the ISDE and that confidence may be the maker or breaker in his first attempt in the international competition.

Another note of interests from my standpoint is that there were two Honda’s on the podium.  I know that I had originally thought that Doug Henry was the last rider to win on a Honda in 2005.  However, Kathryn Whibley quickly corrected me reminding us of Paul Whiblely’s win aboard that brand in 2007.  So okay, either way, it is huge.  Sorry Paul.  But another question arose when Nate Kanney landed a second red bike on the podium in third. (By the way thanks Nate for getting the lead out!) I have been announcing the GNCC’s on and off since the late mid-90s or so and I cannot recall two Hondas on the podium at the same time.  Not saying it hasn’t happened but this would be a good thing to research.  If anyone can remember, I would like to know.  Email me at [email protected] to let us know.

As far as the other ATV battles were concerned on Saturday, every rider seemed to leave all they had on the demanding Unadilla racecourse.  Even Walker Fowler how rarely shows sign of fatigue admitted the along with an early push from the back and the track conditions took its toll on even him. 

Jarrod McClure AKA “Sneaky Snake” showed the signs I have been watching for all season.  McClure, though not rising to the occasion until Unadilla, has had the potential for podiums all season, but as with nearly the entire field, things just haven’t all fallen into place when the checkers fall.  This could be the motivation that he has been searching for all season.

Other impressive rides in the afternoon quad race was the battles in the XC2 and the College A classes.  First, I have said on more than one occasion that if Pat McGuire gets out front early he is going to be hard to stop. After making a second-lap pass on Hoyland for the lead, he never looked back.

Meanwhile, Braden Henthorn moved his way from eighteenth place on lap 1 to the second place position on lap 5.  While the leader McGuire found a pace out front, Henthorn turned the fastest lap in the class the final three laps only able to pull to within about a minute and thirty-eight seconds.

Eric Hoyland, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday, grabbed the Motosport.com Holeshot Award and had problems that took him back to about fifth at one point but was able to battle back for third and keep the points leaders in sight heading down the stretch. 

The College A class was without a doubt one that many people were watching closely. Three riders made this about as an interesting battle as any on the track on Saturday afternoon that actually spilled over into a very high scoring overall finish for those involved.

One of the great honors as an amateur rider is to be singled out as that rider that was the top scoring amateur rider of the day. Often times riders finish in the top 20 overall and sometimes even a top 10 and after adjusted time, Brycen Neal finished 9^th overall. Very impressive!

Neal battled intensely with Landon Wolfe and Chad Jones through the biggest part of the race.  It was not until the final laps that Neal was able to break free and roll to his career best overall finish.  Neal is the feature in this week’s Tuesday Toolbox with Jared Bolton, but I think this is just the first of the interviews that will introduce us to a quiet, hardworking young man that is poised to be one the riders to take the sport to a whole new level.

That’s it for now.  I suppose that is quite a bit to think about till next week, cause there is way more to discuss.  Till then, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.